TIME TO DECIDE

O ye sons of Futa Jalon and ye daughters of the Vulture mountain and bitter waters. Your princes and kings shall be exposed and brought to heel, your yoke shall be broken and you shall pay a heavy price for your wickedness and many sorceries.

On March 3rd 2016 there was a violent clash between Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani youths in Orile, Lagos state. A number of people on both sides of the divide together with some of our security agents were killed. Homes, chattels, property and places of worship were burnt down as the fighting raged.

This came just one day after a similar clash between the same two ethnic groups took place in Ikorodu, Lagos state which also resulted in the loss of life and destruction of property.

Again on 5th March in Ogere on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway yet another clash took place between Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani youths which resulted in even more casualties and a terrible bloodbath.

A number of days before then over 300 Idomas were killed by well-armed Fulani herdsmen in Agatu, Benue state.

At a so-called peace meeting, when asked why they did it, they told the Inspector General of Police that it was because some of their cows had been killed!

After the meeting instead of being arrested for genocide and ethnic cleansing there and then they were allowed to go home quietly. Not even their AK 47’s were confiscated from them.

Sadly there are many other examples of such impunity and similar atrocities.

Throughout the country Fulani militias and herdsmen are wreaking havoc and are slaughtering their compatriots for one reason or the other.

Worse of all is the fact that our Fulani-led Federal Government and Fulani-led Armed Forces are killing thousands of young igbos in the east simply because of their support for Nnamdi Kanu and their call for the establishment of the independent sovereigh state of Biafra.

Again a few weeks ago the same Armed Forces killed over 1000 shia muslims and shot and abducted their leader, Sheik El Zakzaky, who has not been seen in public since.

As all this is going on our economy has ground to a halt, our people are suffering untold hardship and difficult times and the war against Boko Haram and islamist terror is still raging.

Today Nigeria has the dubious distinction of having within its borders the first and the fourth “most deadly terrorist organisations” in the world according to the Global Terror Index. According to the Index the first is Boko Haram and the fourth are the AK 47- wielding Fulani militias/herdsmen.

People are being slaughtered, abducted, pillaged, kidnapped and raped all over the country on a daily basis by these vandals and heartless beasts simply because they believe that their own is now in power and that they can get away with it. All this yet no-one appears to be prepared to do anything about it or to call a spade a spade.

In the light of all these facts the question on everyone’s lips is what is to be done? We all hope and pray for peace and unity in our country but judging by the way things are going perhaps the first question that we have to address is whether we really have a country at all and, if we agree that we do, whether it will or can remain united and as one for much longer.

The rise of radical islam and the use of terror to achieve the objectives of those who espouse and believe in it has changed the world forever. Our country cannot be exempted or left out of this. We have changed forever as well and things can never be the same in Nigeria again.

Those that are in power in our country today appear to have a soft-spot for the terrorists and for reasons best known to himself our President has simply refused to condemn the murderous activities of the Fulani herdsmen and militias.

This is probably because he is, and has been for many years, the Life Patron of the Fulani Cattle Rearers Association: which is the umbrella organisation of the Fulani herdsmen and militias.

Then there is the sad and pitiful case of Ese Oruru in which the Fulani Emir of Kano played an unspecified and unclear role in the abduction, forced islamisation, rape, torture and kidnapping of a 14 year old southern christian girl whilst our security agencies turrned a blind eye to the whole thing and refused to rescue her for months.

It has been alleged that the girl was kept against her will at the Emir’s palace and that one way or the other she was used as a sex slave and she came out pregnant. Despite all this the police have refused to pick him up and compel him to answer the necessary questions that could have cleared the air.

All this because “his” people are in power and they believe that thay can get away with anything and everything, including pedophilia, slavery and, in many cases, murder.

Nothing reflects the degeneration to which our country and our values have been subjected to better than this.

It is time for us to do what we must do to save our country and if those that believe that they own it refuse to be reasonable and fair to the rest of us, perhaps we should consider the possibility of redefining her.

We warned the Nigerian people but they wouldnt listen. Sadly it will get worse. The sons and daughters of Futa Jalon will not rest until they have completely conquered and subjugated the whole of our country.

The Fulani herdsmen are a standing army. They are protected by the state and there is nothing anyone can do about it. That is the new Nigeria for you.

The truth is that we are under occupation and there is nothing we can do about it. If it is not the Fulani herdsmen that is tormenting us then it is Boko Haram.

Most Nigerians are in denial about what is going on and some are just too intimidated and cowardly to acknowledge the problem and to speak out to resist it.

We are in a mess and our collective enemies and oppressors are evil and relentless.

When it comes to the field of foreign policy our President has jettisoned our traditional policy of non-alignment when it comes to the politics of the Middle East.

He just came back from Qatar and Saudi Arabia where he declared his total and complete support for the Palestinians and literally turned his back on the State of Israel. This was a fatal mistake.

Hearing him say it broke my heart just as it did the hearts of millions of other Nigerians who are friends of Israel and who are committed to her cause.

In this respect if only President Buhari understood the spiritual implications of what he has done perhaps he would have reconsidered his decision.

Whatever the case Israel is here to stay forever with Jerusalem as her eternal and undivided capital. Nothing can change that: not even a million Saudi Arabias and Qatars or all the kings and princes of the world.

The Nigeria of today reminds me of Yugoslavia before its civil war and before it broke up into five separate countries. I see and smell blood in the land and we are living in very dangerous times.

The Fulanis are like the Serbs of old in Yugoslavia: dominating, cunning and relentless. They have their own ethnic and religious militias and they are also fully in power. The only difference is that the Serbs were christians whilst the Fulani are muslims.

They both used their religious faith to muster support and effect their purpose. One day though their yoke shall be broken and we shall be set free.

Until then we must muster our strength and courage and stand firm against violence, hate, religious intolerance, injustice, oppression, tyranny and evil.

We must ensure that we do not resort to violence under any circumstances but at the same time we must be firm in our resolve that we shall never be turned into slaves in our own land.

We must reach out to all those who share our vision and we must work together with all ethnic groups in this country who share our values and who seek unity and peace.

As we contend with the enemy we must be courageous and firm in our resolve. We must shed all our fears and we must be ready to suffer persecution and to lose our lives or liberty if that is what is required to effect our purpose and to advance our cause.

We must be prepared to pay any price in order to secure and protect our liberty and to ensure a greater and better future for our loved ones and our children.

Finally as we confront our collective enemies we must do so with confidence and strength. We must invoke the words and memory of David, the greatest of all of the Kings of Israel, when he met Goliath in the field of battle.

As the giant issued his famous challenge, boasted loudly and poured insults and scorn on the Jewish army and their God, young David looked him in the eye and defiantly asked “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that has chosen to defy the armies of the Living God?”

He said, “thy servant slew the lion and the bear. And so it shall be for this uncircumcised Philistine who has chosen to defy the army of the Living God”.

He said, “you come against me with shield and spear but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, the God of the Armies of Israel. Today He shall hand you over to me and I shall slay you and feed your flesh to the birds of the air”.